These eternal, elliptical visitors have long been held to be harbingers of disaster (Halley's Comet popped up in 1066) and still stir an ancient unease not exactly dispelled by evidence that they contain the very beginnings of creation. So it's not terribly surprising that crashing into one might be seen as pushing it a bit, especially when, for example, a leading scientist observes, "We used to be afraid of comets ... They were never great ones.The enemies who attacked us on 11 September 2001, and who still threaten us and our allies, obviously do not share our values They abhor them. They may not like our foreign policies, but it is our character - and I am including the United Kingdom and all our democratic allies in the pronoun "our" - it is our democratic character that they truly revile. Then, and only then, do terms like patriotism and honour and doing one's duty have a moral quality, and are virtues in themselves. Many a patriotic German sought honour in doing one's duty to F?r and fatherland. History and humanity, not to mention a just God, scorn them for it.Prosperity, military power, a well-educated society are the attainments of a great nation, but they are not its essence.
If they are used only in pursuit of self-interest or to serve unjust ends, they degrade a nation's greatness. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were temporarily powerful nations. And contrary to the suspicions of detractors in other countries, the common destiny many Americans idealise surpasses material gain and self-interest Nationalism is not intrinsically good. For it to be so, a nation must transcend attachments to land and folk to champion universal rights of freedom and justice that reflect and animate the virtues of its citizenry. National honour, no less than personal honour, has only the worth it derives from its defence of human dignity. But at the same time it is not humane simply to pass the buck to the criminal justice system. A humane society should be able to respond more effectively to people who may not easily be treated but who need help.The writer is the chief executive of the mental health charity Sane.
America is an idea as well as a place. We were conceived in liberty, and not in an organic development from ethnic associations or a mystical attachment to the land. When we celebrate the Fourth of July, we are instinctually exalting the political values of a nation where the people are sovereign, recognising not only the inherent justice of self-determination, not only that freedom empowers individuals to decide their destiny for themselves, but that it empowers them to choose a common destiny. Why should someone who is in mental pain be criminalised for relieving that pain - albeit at the inconvenience of other people? Surely if she had been offered more treatment, a place where she could take refuge, she would not have to resort to harming herself in a public place. No one carries out an act like that unless he or she is feeling extremely disturbed or distressed and what is important is to find ways of breaking that cycle of behaviour. I do realise we cannot overburden the system trying to cope with those whose conditions are treatable.